Alexander Zverev had to dig deep again at the US Open, but the top seed and world number two did enough to beat Quentin Halys 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in four hours and 33 minutes and move into the third round.
The victory mattered as much for survival as it did for momentum. Zverev is among the favourites for the title, with Jannik Sinner absent through injury and Carlos Alcaraz still working his way back to full fitness, but this latest win also underlined how much energy he is spending just to keep his campaign alive.
Zverev had only gone to sleep at 5am on Wednesday morning after beating Lorenzo Sonego, then came back on Thursday to outlast Halys in another draining match. It was his second five-setter in the first two rounds, a reminder that even a top seed can be pulled into the kind of battle that tests more than shot-making.
Zverev keeps finding a way
There was a blunt honesty in Zverev’s reaction afterwards. He said: “I hope at some point I'll start playing better.”
That is the key point here. Zverev is still winning, but not yet controlling matches in the way a genuine tournament favourite would ideally want. Against Halys, he twice had to recover after losing a set, and he needed the fourth-set tie-break to stay in the contest before pulling clear in the decider.
He also admitted the strain of carrying the top seed. “It's great to be announced as the top seed on this court until you almost lose every time,” he said. It was a dry line, but it captured the reality of a tournament that has already demanded a lot from him.
A draw opening up around him
The result became even more significant because the draw has begun to tilt in Zverev’s favour. Based on seedings, he could have faced Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals, but de Minaur also lost on Thursday. Lorenzo Musetti also fell, leaving Zverev as the only top-20 player remaining in his quarter.
That does not make the road easy, but it does widen the opportunity. In a men's draw where six of the players left have reached Grand Slam singles finals and only three have lifted a major trophy, the field still has experience at the top end, yet Zverev’s section no longer looks as threatening as it once did.
He is also chasing a bigger personal milestone. Zverev reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2020, and he remains one of the few players left with the profile to go deep if he can improve his level quickly enough.
For now, though, the message is simple. Zverev is still standing, still advancing, and still in the conversation for the title. But after another long night, the next question is not just whether he can win again — it is whether he can finally start playing like a man who expects to go all the way.
